It's not easy helming Apple unless you have thick skin. "My skin got materially thicker after August 2011 (when I succeeded Jobs)," Cook told the Washington Post in an interview. That's how 55-year-old Tim Cook sums up his 5 years as CEO of the tech giant. Cook took over from Steve Jobson August 24, 2011 after the Apple founder's health declined.

Running Apple is alienating, says Cook. "It's sort of a lonely job," Cook says. "The adage that it's lonely--the CEO job is lonely--is accurate in a lot of ways."

Cook’s interview comes at a time when nothing seems right for Apple. The firm has seen two mixed quarters, with iPhone sales declining, and revenue in China painting a sad picture. It's India story is not that inspiring too. According to global market research firm Strategy Analytics, Apple shipped 800,000 smartphones to India in the second quarter this year -- down from 1.2 million units in the same quarter last year.

Samsung's second-quarter smartphone shipments were estimated at about 72 million units worldwide -- almost double Apple's figure. And experts believe the just-launched Galaxy Note 7 will take a further bite out of Apple's sales.

But Cook is hopeful and in India he sees his redemption. Here's what he thinks he has done in his job so far.

Enormous opportunity in India"I see enormous opportunity [in India]. There are still a fair number of people in this country who don’t have smartphones. They’re using flip phones or a feature phone. There are a lot of people switching from Android to iOS, and that’s huge for us because they have a lot more market share than we do, from a unit point of view. Our goal has never been to make the most. It’s always been to make the best.

4G investment good for AppleAs telecom companies upping the ante to capture 4G customers in India, Cook says this would provide the right platform to increase iPhone penetration in the country. He said, "India is fast growing, but our base there is smaller. One of the big things that has held India back is the cellular infrastructure. They have two major carriers putting in a lot of investment to bring 4G. You can imagine if you didn’t have 4G today. You can’t enjoy video on a 3G. Periodically you can, but not consistently. This is a game changer. In India, there’s no fixed line to home. So they’re a mobile society."

Apple services to sustain long term growthUnlike many other smartphone makers, Apple offers range of services which makes people to keep coming back to it. Cook said that services like iCloud, App Store, Apple Pay and the like have over the last 12 months grew about $4 billion to over $23 billion in sales, and next year it’s going to be a Fortune 100 company in size."Apple is the only company that can take hardware, software and services and integrate those into an experience that’s an “aha” for the customer," says Cook.

It is a lonely jobSpeaking about his experience as Apple CEO, Cook said, "It’s sort of a lonely job. The adage that it’s lonely — the CEO job is lonely — is accurate in a lot of ways. I’m not looking for any sympathy." Tim Cook admitted Maps was a mistake and that's the only way an organization learns. He also said that hiring former Dixons CEO John Browett person for retail was clearly a screw-up as he didn’t fit with the company culture.

Privacy is like freedom of the pressApple has frequently come under pressure from government agencies for its tight privacy features. Cook assured that there is no change in Apple's stand and according to him, privacy is on the level of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Steve’s not replaceableTalking about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Cook said, "To me, Steve’s not replaceable." Recruited by Steve Jobs himself, Cook is believed to have offered a part of his liver to the dying Apple CEO. On his part, Jobs is said to have angrily turned down Cook's offer. In 2004, Jobs announced that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Gandhi’s AutobiographyI have two books going right now: One is the Bobby Kennedy book [“Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon,” by Larry Tye] that just came out. The other is quite an old book. It’s a Gandhi book [“Mohandas K. Gandhi, Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth”] that I got interested in because we went to the Gandhi museum when we were in India recently. I tend to like nonfiction and particularly reading about people and how they lived and how they fought, and what motivated them and their philosophy and so forth.

Buffett as advisorWhen asked about who he turns to for advice, he said that it depends on the issue. Cook said that during the year 2013 probe of Apple's practices, he turned to former president Bill Clinton and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein for help on how to face US Congress. On issues related to returning shareholder's cash, he said, "I called up Warren Buffett. I thought he’s the natural person, and so I try to go through that process on everyone."

Future is in AIApple CEO sees huge opportunity in artificial intelligence. "Look at the core technologies that make up the smartphone today and look at the ones that will be dominant in smartphones of the future — like AI," Cook told the Washington Post. He further asserted, "AI will make this product even more essential to you." He also added that the company is doing lot of things around artificial intelligence.